What does banjo virtuoso BélaFleck have in common with a Walt Disney show about a family of space adventurers? That would be Sascha Paladino, who directed a documentary film about his half-brother Bélabefore creating the animated series “Miles from Tomorrowland.”

The new Disney Junior show centers on young Miles Callisto, who lives on a spaceship with his mom, dad and sister, plus a robot ostrich. Everyone in the family works (through some wormhole in child labor laws, apparently) for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, aiding intergalactic travelers. Read More »

Just because Andy gave away his toys at the end of “Toy Story 3” doesn’t mean Buzz Lightyear and Woody’s story is over.

On a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday, Walt Disney Co. chief executive Robert Iger announced that “Toy Story 4” is in the works and will be released on June 16, 2017. It will be directed by Pixar and Disney animation guru John Lasseter, who directed the first two films in the hugely successful series, but sat out the third, which was directed by Lee Unkrich. Read More »

Soon after announcing a woman will become the god of thunder, Marvel Entertainment revealed on “The Colbert Report” that the super human will be an African American.

Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada confirmed reports that Sam Wilson –The Falcon– will succeed Cap Steve Rogers and carry the indestructible, proto-adamantium, red, white and blue shield. Steve, who will lose his superior strength, will pass the shield to his long-time ally, and Captain America will get a new look.

“Steve’s spirit is as willing as ever,” editor Tom Brevoort explained on Marvel.com. “But his body is no longer up to the task of being Captain America. Read More »

Season 1 of “Masters of Sex” ended on a trite yet steamy note with a soggy Bill Masters (Michael Sheen) turning up at the doorstep of Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan). He lost his job at Washington University after a controversial presentation of the sex study he and Virginia had been pouring blood, sweat, and sexual fluids into (#teehee). Also, his wife just had a baby he’s not keen on fathering. To add to the complications, Bill doesn’t know that Ethan (Nicholas D’Agosto) proposed to Virginia.

Season two picks up nearly where things left off, weaving between the events of that rainy night, a separate evening at a hotel, and the realities the characters face since the presentation shook things up in Pleasantville. Read More »

When Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez won the Oscar for Best Original Song last night, for “Let It Go” from the Disney movie “Frozen,” the announcer pointed out that Bobby was one of the few people to win an “EGOT” — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

After the Lopezes delivered an endearing, rhyming acceptance speech, the husband-and-wife team spoke to the press in the interview room. While discussing the EGOT achievement (Bobby is one of only 12 who have won EGOTs), Kristen strung a handmade necklace of pasta that spelled “EGOT” around his neck — a gift from her and their two daughters.

Bobby, who also co-created the hit theater shows “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon,” talked with Speakeasy at the Governor’s Ball after-party about his win, “Frozen” on Broadway and doing more films. Read More »

Songwriters Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez spent two years working on the music and lyrics to “Frozen,” the new Disney animated musical about a wintry kingdom opening today.

Having grown up “with a steady diet of Disney,” the husband-and-wife team studied the films “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Aladdin” — all by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken.

“We are huge fans of everyone who has come before us and now that we’ve been through this journey – we bumped into Menken at a party the other day and I was like, I can’t believe you did so many of them,” Kristen says. “They’re so hard, and you have to really check your ego at the door.”

The Lopezes say there are more than 20 songs that ended up on the cutting room floor — but here, they discuss four of the “Frozen” songs that didn’t. (Warning, there are some spoiler details about the film “Frozen.”)Read More »

Speakeasy interviewed the creators of the hit Nickelodeon series, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and they offered up their thoughts about the current season, Book 2 “Spirits,” and a look ahead at coming episodes. The finale for Book 2 in the “Korra” saga is already online, and is due to be broadcast on TV this Friday on Nickelodeon at 8 pm ET. Read More »

Until he was at the helm of Pixar Animation Studios’ first television special “Toy Story OF TERROR!” it never occurred to director Angus MacLane to substitute a 99-cent rubber bat for a computer generated effect.

“If we did CGI, it was going to cost $1 million, and we just didn’t have that kind of money for effects,” said MacLane. The bat makes a cameo in the 22½ – minute feature “Toy Story OF TERROR!”

The Halloween-themed special takes characters from the studio’s “Toy Story” franchise—including Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Ken (Michael Keaton) and Jessie (Joan Cusack)—and places them in a dumpy motel after a flat tire upset their horror film laden drive to Grandma’s house.

San Diego Comic-Con International is expecting more than 125,000 fans to descend upon the San Diego Convention Center for the four day event, which begins Thursday. A pop-culture/comic book extravaganza, the 44th annual event features a 107-page schedule packed full of events for studio heads and fanboys alike.

All of the leading film studios are hosting panels, including Lions Gate/Summit, Sony/Screen Gems, Warner Bros./Legendary, DreamWorks and Disney/Marvel. Warner Bros. Television, Sony Pictures Television and virtually all the networks are hosting certain show-specific panels.

Expect to see events and presentations featuring such anticipated movies as “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Ender’s Game,” “300: Rise of an Empire” and TV shows such as “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Mickey Mouse has gone from riding steamboats to crowding onto a bullet train.

To mark the return of the animated series “Mickey Mouse,” which premiered on the Disney Channel last month, Paul Rudish, an Emmy-winning animator, director and producer, has helped to create a series of Disney shorts that have classic roots, but with contemporary touches.

The shorts feature Mickey and a cast of familiar characters (including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto) in a variety of locales including Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice and the Alps. In total there will be 19 news three-and-a-half minute cartoons, each of which took roughly three months to create.

Disney decided to resurrect the shorts in an effort to reach the next generation of fans. Available first on their digital platforms, including their Mickey Mouse website and on the Mickey Mouse Video App, the shorts follow Mickey as he inevitably lands in trouble and, with the help of his friends, finds a humorous way out.

The Mickey Mouse character first appeared on screen in 1928′s “Steamboat Willie.” Rudish phoned the Journal to discuss the evolution of the famous mouse. Read the interview and watch the clip. Read More »

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.